


The Council of Elrond

by Skarabrae_stone



Series: Harry Potter and the One Ring [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Temeraire - Naomi Novik, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:28:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27534523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skarabrae_stone/pseuds/Skarabrae_stone
Summary: The Council of Elrond-- with dragons.
Relationships: Harry Potter & Temeraire, William Laurence & Harry Potter
Series: Harry Potter and the One Ring [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1094376
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	The Council of Elrond

**Author's Note:**

> This series is still abandoned. I don't intend to post any more in it-- this is an old snippet I found while looking through my WIPs.  
> This is meant to take place about ten years after "Harry Potter and the One Ring". Harry is 21 or thereabouts, and Laurence has chosen him to be Temeraire's next captain after Laurence retires. How Harry got the ring, I've no idea. In this story, it's the last (and most indestructible) of the seven horcruxes.

“I will take the ring to Mordor,” said Harry, “though I do not know the way.”

There was immediate uproar. Captain Boromir was shouting something, gesturing aggressively toward Gloin, whose face turned bright red as he began yelling too, waving his hearing trumpet. Merry and Pippin were talking excitedly, faces bright with innocent enthusiasm. Hermione was arguing shrilly with Ron.

Above the hubbub, Temeraire’s voice carried the loudest: “I don’t see why _you_ have to go, Harry,” he said plaintively. “It is sure to be very dangerous, and I don’t like the sound of those Black Riders at all.”

Harry reached up to stroke the dragon’s nose. “Tem, don’t you see? There _isn’t_ anyone else. It’s got to be like this. It’s got to be me.”

“Surely someone else could go.” Temeraire curled his tail protectively around Harry and lowered his voice to what he probably thought of as a whisper. “That tall, shouty fellow over there, or the ugly little man with the red beard. They both look very capable.”

Silence suddenly descended as Boromir and Gloin broke off their argument to glower at Temeraire. Harry cleared his throat nervously. “It’s the last Horcrux,” he said. “We got the sword—sorry, Aragorn—but it won’t mean anything if the Ring isn’t destroyed. And you just said that the only way to do that is to drop it into Mount—er—”

“Orodruin,” Hermione supplied. “Also known as Mount Doom, Amon Amarth, or the Forge of—”

“I still say that it is foolish to simply throw it away!” shouted Boromir.

“I agree.”

Harry sighed. He’d been wondering when Iskierka would speak up.

“Why should we go through all these dangers to get rid of it, when we could just keep it ourselves?” she continued. “It’s a very pretty thing, and if none of you wish to keep it, I’m sure it would look perfectly lovely on my Granby.”

Granby’s face took on the expression of mild horror with which he usually reacted to Iskierka’s suggestions. Temeraire gave a displeased rumble.

“It is _Harry’s_ ,” he growled, “not Granby’s, and if anyone is going to _keep_ it, it should be Harry.” Then, with what seemed like something of an effort, he added, “But we are not going to simply throw it away; we are going to _destroy_ it, which is quite different, because it is our only hope of defeating the Dark Lord—which you would know, Iskierka, if you had paid the slightest bit of attention to the proceedings.”

“I can’t be bothered when you are all babbling about some stupid journey to the Land of Shadows, which sounds likely to be very boring, without the slightest opportunity for any sort of prize whatsoever!” Iskierka snapped. “And if it must be destroyed, I don’t see why we can’t simply do it here, instead of chasing about in the middle of nowhere like a bunch of perfect geese!”

Elrond looked as though he was getting a headache. “We already discussed this,” he said, exasperated. “Not even the Great Dragons of old—”

“Oh! So you think I cannot do as well as they, do you?” Iskierka bristled.

“Nobody doubts your skills, my dear,” interjected Granby. “But the Dark Lord made the ring impervious to dragon fire.”

“Well,” Iskierka said, rather sulkily, “That is not _my_ fault.” She subsided, however, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s settled then,” said Laurence calmly. “As Mr. Potter is my second in command, Temeraire and I shall of course accompany him on his journey. The rest of my crew may decide for themselves—I shall not force anyone to come with us.”

“We’ll go,” said Hermione eagerly, gesturing at herself and Ron. “We shan’t leave you alone.”

Laurence’s mouth twitched. “Thank you, Captain Granger.”

Iskierka’s tail twitched, half in excitement, half irritation. “Granby, we shall go too, shall we not?” she demanded, in what she probably thought was a whisper. “I do not like to be left behind, even if there _are_ no prizes to be had.”

“We don’t need _your_ help,” said Temeraire rudely, but Elrond raised his hands for silence.

“There are nine Riders,” he said. “Therefore, we shall have nine dragons. Captains, this is a volunteer assignment. You have until tomorrow to state your intention of going, and to make any adjustments necessary among your crews. I will send no person on this mission who is not able and willing to go.”

There was a murmur of agreement and acknowledgement, though Captain Boromir still looked like he wanted to argue.

“Come away, lad,” Laurence murmured to him, moving in the direction of Temeraire’s clearing. “We have much to prepare before we leave.”

“Yes sir,” said Harry automatically; then, when they were out of earshot of the others, “Are you angry with me, Laurence? I would have consulted you before speaking—but it seemed the only way.”

“Angry?” Laurence said. “No, Harry. You did exactly as you ought.” He paused, then said, “You will make a fine captain for Temeraire, when the time comes.”

It was not the first time he had spoken of it, but Harry was suddenly struck by the weight of the trust Laurence was placing upon him—at this moment, more important even than the ring on its chain around his neck. Over the years, Laurence had become more of a father to him than any blood relative, and his opinion meant more to him than that of the entire Council put together. “I will certainly do my best, sir,” he said.

Laurence smiled at him. “I know you will.”

The task ahead of them would be difficult, Harry knew, and dangerous, but by now he was well-used to combat. And with Laurence and Temeraire on his side, and his friends with them, he couldn’t help but think they would win through at the last.


End file.
